Fly By: Cpl. Michael J. Purdy

HAVELOCK, NC, UNITED STATES

06.07.2012

Marine maintenance keeps the helicopters flying and as an airframes collateral duty inspector Cpl. Michael J. Purdy makes sure his Marines get the job done right on the UH-1N Huey and AH-1W Cobra. He inspects the hydraulic systems and the airframe structure of the aircraft and declares them good to go.

“The job itself is fun,” said Purdy. “Sometimes there’ll be some stuff wrong with the aircraft that takes a while to figure out, but once you do, you feel good about it. We make sure we have helicopters that are fully mission capable and ready to go to the fight wherever they need to go.”

Purdy said also he enjoys the challenge of leading junior Marines in their mission. He gives technical classes to his Marines weekly.

“My favorite part is teaching the junior Marines," he said. "Certain leadership styles don’t work with everybody, so you have to be adaptive and be sure you can inspire each Marine a little bit.”